Later
by jgpanda14
Summary: Takes place at the end of The series. Kenji basically can't keep a secret to save his life.
1. Chapter 1

"Tell me I'm dreaming. Pinch me. Smack me in the freaking face." My jaws dropped.

Kenji fake Gawks and puts a hand over his mouth. " watch your dirty mouth princess. You'll frighten the children."

"No I mean seriously. Kenji am I really seeing this? I mean are you seeing this?" He just nods and nods and nods his head.

"It is rrreeeeaaallllyyy weird huh?"

"I mean..." I throw my arms out. "They're playing baseball!"

We are standing on a metal walkway in the training room. It acts sort Of like rafters. A second floor to the room. Maybe it was put up for electrical purposes. We stand leaning against the railing watching everyone beneath us. Warner stands in the center of the room, holding a baseball, aiming for Adam. Before, I would have rushed to take the ball from Warner before he tried to bash Adams head in with it. Now I watch, happiness bursting out of me like a fountain. Adam has his arms around James's, guiding him to hit the ball Warners throwing to them. Ian and Brendan stand in line behind them, leaning forward ready to run. Castle stands in the corner laughing as he keeps mentally guiding the ball away from Warners target. Winston stands off to the side, probably calculating the exact angle at which James needs to hit it. Alia and Lily are sitting next to him, laughing, cheering on James. Sara and Sonya walk around the room in their worn Little world.

"Come on little brother!" Warner smiles big and throws the ball. It hits the bat perfectly and flys across the room as Ian and Brendan run around.

"Did he just say that?" Kenji asks and nods at Warner.

Tears are in my eyes. I nod.

"Who would've thunk huh?" We stare at Adam, James, and Warner play wrestling over the ball.

I sigh. " I know... I mean... Kenji... They wanted to kill each other. I mean literally. Warner literally wanted to rip Adams throat out. And now they're playing baseball. Who knew how much things could change?"

"Ya from dating Adam, ripping his heart out to then dating his psycho crazy half brother." He laughs when I punch him in the arm. "And now He's your brother in law." He sighs as if he finally heard the happy ending to the never ending story.

"And it's so..." I pause when I realize something. "Kenji... " I stand up straighter. "What do you mean brother in law?"

He freezes and clears his throat. "Oh I just mean..." He struggles "he's your boyfriends brother. That's all." His face is pale.

"Kenji..." I grip his arm like a vise. "Are you keeping something from me?" He turns to me but won't make eye contact.

"Ummmm..."

My heart races when the realization hits me. Warners going to propose. "No way. No freaking way. No way!" I screech and giggle like a girl.

"Shh!"Kenji covers my mouth. "He will hang me if he knows I let it slip!"

I'm nodding nodding nodding and all of the sudden I can't keep my eyes off Warner. I just stare and stare at him until he looks up. I can't pull my eyes away I'm bubbling. He grins at me like I'm the sun coming out from the clouds. Suddenly his face changes like he's realized something and frowns. He stomps his foot and glares up at us. "Kishimoto!" He yells. " you blabber mouth!"

Kenji rubs the back of his neck. " I have no idea what you're talking about."

" I can practically feel her heart beating from here you morone!"

He tries to walk away and Warner throws his arm out, borrowing from Castle to freeze Kenji. " I will ring your neck."

Kenji goes invisible. I'm biting back a laugh.

" well if you don't mind..." Adam speaks up, I'm guessing coming to,Warners rescue in some way. " we're in the middle of a game..."

Warner clears his throat and turns to me. " yes yes, we'll talk about this later then, love?" I cover my smile and nod wildly.

Later was too far away.


	2. Chapter 2

I waited and waited and I was sure that Kenji had lied to me. 2 weeks later and Warner had not even hinted about a proposal. "Maybe it's for the best." I sighed as Kenji trained with me. I was practicing moving a weight from one side of the room to the other. He was trying to see if I could increase my power by utilizing my body more.  
"What?" Kenji asked and pushed my elbow up. "Maybe it's best if he doesn't propose now." I sigh and let the weight drop to the floor with a loud clang. "And why is that?" He rubbed his temples and rolled his eyes.  
"Well..." I shrugged my shoulders. " I mean... We're in the middle of a war. It's not very practical, and it could get... You know... Dangerous...?" It came out sounding more like a question. "You're seriously bipolar." He sighed and put his hand on his hip. "Yes, no." He mocked me with a high pitched voice. "Oh I love you Warner. I want to marry you. Then we can be a hot superhero couple and save the world. Oh no Warner I couldn't possibly marry you! It's too dangerous and I'm afraid of commitment!" My jaw clenched and I punched Kenji in the arm harder than I had planned. "I am NOT afraid of commitment!" He winced and rubbed his arm, then paused, waiting for an apology. I didn't offer one. "Do you want to marry the guy or not?" Kenji stomped to a pile of hand weights and picked up a 5 pound one. "Of course I want to marry him." I meant it. I meant that more than I had meant anything. A 5 pound weight flew at my face. My arm flew up in the air and I landed on my knee as the weight exploded above my head. Delalaui cringed from the corner.  
"You really should stop destroying his things." Kenji made a tsk tsk sound.  
"I mean why did you tell me he was proposing if he wasn't!" My fingers ran through my hair. Kenji opened his mouth but he was cut off by two tiny voices. "Juliette!" Sara and Sonya gasped out my name.  
"What's wrong?" My heart picked up.  
"Why are you still in here?" Sonya sounded worried.  
I wrinkled my forehead. "Why would I not be?" "Well... Dinner starts soon..." Sara acted like she was going to cry. "Ok well I'll be there." I laughed.  
"I just..." "But..." They struggled for words.  
"I think they're telling you that you stink." Kenji jumped in.  
"Wow, thanks Kenji." I laughed.  
They got silent." What you're serious?" The girls eagerly nodded. "Um... Ok then. I guess I'll go get ready..." I started walking away. Turning back a few times out of confusion. "Where something nice!" Kenji yelled after me. " you're hotter than you look!" My skin got goosebumps. Something was coming. I thought I might even wear a dress. 


	3. Chapter 3

"Soooo is it happening?" I bounced down the hall walking behind the girls.

They shared a look with each other but ignored me.

"Because I really feel like it's happening." My feet stumbled on the carpet as I moved in front of them, walking backwards. "I'd kinda just like to know if it's happening because... I mean... Do I look alright?" I wore the green dress that Warner had bought for me when I first moved onto base.

"You look great." Sonya smiled.

"So...?" I asked again, eyebrows raised. They pushed past me, and past the dining room.

"Wait!" I caught up with them. "I thought we were going to dinner?"

"If you could stop asking questions, that'd be great." Sara wrung her hands.

"But where are we going?..." I whined.

They stopped in the hallway and gestures to two wide doors. It led to the roof. I shook my head. "Why... Why would we go out there?" The last time I was there Warner shot a man right in front of my eyes. I understood it now, but it brought back memories I wasn't looking forward to revisiting.

"Please..." The girls said in unison.

Suddenly the doors opened. Ian stood with his arm gesturing for me to enter. I hesitated but moved forward. It was dark. Pitch black. My eyes adjusted slowly, helping me know where the edge of the roof was.

"But it's so..." I said turning to Ian, but the doors slammed shut. "Dark." I finished, deflated. "What the heck is happening?..." I whispered to no one.

There was a loud click and hundreds of strung lights shone in the courtyard beneath me and on the walls around me.

"Hello!" I called out. No one answered. No one was down there.

I stared down, expecting something, anything to happen. When Warner appeared in the middle of the courtyard.

Kenji. I laughed.

Warner was dressed in a black suit with a green tie that brought out his eyes. He was stunning.

"What's going on?!" I laughed down to him. He smirked and walked forward a few steps with his hands in his pockets. He was blushing. He was slouching. He was being careless. Something he never was.

"There's something I have to tell you." He swallowed hard.

"Mmmmhhhmmmm" I nodded my head, probing him to continue.

"Love, I..." His arms flung around as he struggled for words. "I am... I am a stubborn man."

I was leaning against the wall listening to him. They must have been using speakers of some sort.

"Tell me something I don't know."

"Something you don't know..." He laughed." I never told you that I didn't want to love you." He was breathing hard trying to get whatever it was out.

"I tried to get you out of my head. I tried to view you as nothing but someone to study. But you were stubborn as an ox and you were childish..." I cringed. I hated when he called me that. "It was fascinating." He said and looked me straight in the eyes. "It became an obsession of mine, to understand you. I had to know what made you tick, because you know I was and always will be a sick creature." My head shook back and forth back and forth remembering proof that he was wrong. "And despite my best efforts, you bewitched me. You struck something in me that felt like fire and ice and pain and relief all at once." He was pacing. When he spoke I felt dizzy. "I gave in. For maybe the first time in my life I gave in to something I tried so hard to push away." I almost felt guilty. It felt like I was being blamed for causing chaos in his life. "And that, love, was the best decision I've ever made." Was my skin on fire? I think it must have been.

He continued. "We, are in the middle of a war." There was a strange shift in his tone. "We will always be busy and our lives will always be in danger." My heart had picked up. "We are changing the world." He grinned like he'd never been happier. "And I, am fighting my own war. Inside of me. Because I do not want you to get hurt. Half the time I want to stick you back in that cell just so you're safe." He laughed even though nothing about that was funny. "But I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't." His head was shaking violently. " And something has been pulling at me again, and I've been pushing it for so long, trying to resist." What was he even talking about? "But, just as giving in to loving you, was the best decision I've ever made. I think giving in to this, will have similar if not superior results. " My chest was rising and falling like it was begging for air.

A hand came into my vision, I glanced up to see Adam smiling down at me. He set a small black box on the wall and walked away.

I hardly registered Adam was the one who set it down. I just stared and stared and stared at it. What was I supposed to do with it?

"Open it please, love." Warner sounded like he was begging. My hands picked up the box and my fingers rubbed the soft black plush. "Please?"

I flipped open the lid and inside set a silver band with a single diamond. It was gorgeous. But I could hardly see it through the the tears in my eyes.

"I think you know what I'm going to ask." I heard. A silent laugh made my body quake. I stared down into the courtyard but Warner was no where to be found.

"Aaron.?.." I sighed.

"Love..." I heard from right behind me.

Castle, ran through my head. I spun quickly, the dress blowing up, to see Aaron, on one knee, grinning at me. "Will you marry me?"

Yes yes yes, was all I could think. But I was frozen. Stuck, holding the box containing a symbol of my future, standing in a place representing our past. That was why he chose this place. I suddenly understood. To show how far we'd come. What we had gone through. And he'd involved my friends. It was perfect.

Then I registered James, standing in the corner, grinning as he snapped pictures with a large camera. Had he been there the whole time? I was suddenly overwhelmed at how important this moment was.

What was I supposed to say? It was illogical. Me? Now? Me? It didn't make since, despite how much I wanted it.

"Are..." Something was coming out that I couldn't control. "Are you sure you want to marry me?"

The thought of Aaron Warner, the most gorgeous human on the planet, wanting me, seemed genuinely preposterous.

He did his silent laugh thing and stood up, running his fingers through his hair. I was suddenly wrapped in his arms, crying as he kissed away the tears on my cheeks.

"Can I take that as a yes?" He asked.

I nodded and nodded even though I knew he knew the answer, well before I said anything.


End file.
